I visited Artefino on Superior across from the PD building to say hi to Jeff Hess, whose Tim Russo coffeehouse tour has been ongoing, and will continue through the primary election. Here’s a little vignette, and a pitch for donations!!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Video of the Jeff Hess coffee house tour!!
Monday, August 16th, 2010So, um…..I think Terri Hamilton Brown has a shot
Sunday, August 15th, 2010Time for me to put my political blogger hat on about the county executive race, simply because Terri Hamilton Brown has kind of forced me to pay attention.
County Council District 7 is unique among all the seats, in that it includes typically white, west side areas, and typically African American east side areas, in big chunks. Very diverse. And as a guy knocking on doors constantly, I get to see what’s going on at the ground level pretty closely. So what’s going on out there?
Brown’s visibility in the part of District 7 that’s her base (Wards 7, 8, 9, and part of 12) is pretty dramatic. I see her signs everywhere, constantly. Ed Fitzgerald? I don’t see many Fitzgerald signs at all. There are a few here and there in response to a Brown sign, but whatever Fitzgerald signs that are out there arrived late, and in small numbers. And in the western part of District 7, I can’t recall seeing any Fitzgerald signs at all.
Maybe Fitzgerald is ignoring the city of Cleveland in favor of the suburbs, but whenever I go out to visit mom in Middleburg, I ain’t seeing any Fitzgerald signs there, either.
This tells me that Terri Hamilton Brown could pull off a surprise on September 7.
That sound you hear is the division bell
Thursday, August 12th, 2010Most people think of this term in relation to Pink Floyd’s 1994 album. To me, because I’ve worked in British politics, the division bell retains its original meaning.
The bell is used in the local neighbourhood of the Parliament to signal a division is occurring and that members in the Commons or in the House of Lords have eight minutes to get to the appropriate Division Lobby to vote for or against the resolution.
A division bell is ringing right now among people who have known me for a long time. I’ve been prepared for this division to take place by the fact that it has been occurring among people who know me for the last 9 years. Some go one way, others stay right where they are.
It’s not so fun in real life, but this is normal in an election campaign. People have to choose. So they’re starting to choose. The bad news is that sometimes, the division bell rings, and people you didn’t think would go one way do, in fact, go that way. The good news is that the people remaining with you, for the most part, are the ones you really want to stick around anyway.
We’ve got less than 4 weeks to go, and that bell’s just gonna keep right on ringing. We’ll see who’s on the winning side soon enough.
More thank you cards in production – I’ve created at least one job!
Thursday, August 12th, 2010For DJBG.
Now THIS is a Republican I can work with – wanna legalize pot, Matt?
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Matt Brakey stopped by yesterday to comment on my post supporting his position to ban traffic cameras in Cuyahoga County. There’s so much awesomeness in his comment, I have to go through it one by one.
Maybe we can agree on a few more issues:
Can we agree that the county’s drug laws are disproportionately targeting poor minority communities and our justice system needs to be wholly reformed?
Agreed in whole. That’s one reason why I advocate to ban the box on employment applications asking about past criminal convictions. In addition, I’d very much like to know why the county prosecutor’s office was the only remaining countywide elected position in county government under the new charter.
I’m also in favor of legalization of marijuana in Cuyahoga County, in much the same way as California is about to do by referendum. I can’t think of a single step that would relieve more pressure on our justice system, employ more people, faster, and result in quicker fixing of stretched governmental budgets through tax revenue, than legalizing the sale, purchase and use of marijuana, with almost no negative effects whatsoever. Let’s continue, shall we?
Can we agree that much of what passes as government “economic development” is just an enrichment of special interests — a wealth transfer from poor to rich.
Yes, and these corpulent, monied interests have their candidates in this county election. A couple of them are even in my primary. County government needs a voice or two in opposition to the constant looting of taxpayer dollars for the wealthy few. I plan to be one of them.
Can we agree that the existing political establishment within both parties will do nothing to benefit the people of Cuyahoga County, and that we need candidates that will stand up to the party machines and special interests?
Yes, and that’s why I’m running on a tagline “not related to Frank.” I’m confident voters will recognize that of the 9 people in my primary, I’m the only Democrat who will stand up to the party machines and special interests.
I am a big proponent of civil liberties and suspect there is much overlap to be had. Let’s not get stuck in this D/R paradigm.
I only get stuck in the “D/R paradigm” if the R advocates a total capitulation to the hard right teabaggers who are less in touch with reality than Ted Kazcynski. Sounds like Matt Brakey might be a guy I could work with.
I agree with Republican Matt Brakey on traffic cameras
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010I first came across traffic cameras when they were all the rage in Britain in the late 1990′s, early 2000′s. By then, they had become objects of vandalism. People would literally blow holes in them with shotguns, set them on fire, tape them up with duct tape – they were, and remain, despised.
When Cleveland started using them, I knew it would only be a matter of time before the push back began. Traffic cameras have become a campaign issue in the county council races, with Republican Matt Brakey finding quite possibly the only issue on which I will agree with a Republican. The New York Times has noticed.
The issue has bubbled up in places like Cleveland, where Matt Brakey, a 29-year-old businessman seeking a spot on the Cuyahoga County Council, has proclaimed his opposition to traffic cameras on his campaign Web site and at events like one he recently held at a busy intersection where he unfurled a banner announcing his stance.
“There were lots of honks,” said Mr. Brakey, a Republican and first-time candidate for office. “This issue really taps into the general dissatisfaction with government.”
Here’s what it “taps into” for me, and has done since I saw my first traffic camera in the UK over 10 years ago – in the United States, traffic cameras are unconstitutional. Why? Because you cannot cross examine the “witness” to your crime, the camera. Your guilt or innocence comes down to whether or not the government can certify that the traffic camera is accurately calibrated. The camera cannot prove or testify that you were the driver, therefore the person breaking the law. It can only certify that it is accurate, and that certification comes from the prosecution, which itself is biased.
Therefore, a traffic camera violates due process of law as guaranteed by the penumbras and emanations from the 4th, 5th, and 14th amendments of the US Constitution. As candidate for county council, I oppose the use of traffic cameras, and as a member of county council for District 7, which includes the vast majority of traffic cameras in Cuyahoga County, I will work to see that traffic cameras are removed from my district.
And if Matt Brakey wins his race, and we sit together in county council, I will happily co-sponsor bi-partisan county legislation to ban the use of traffic cameras in Cuyahoga County permanently.
Not related to Frank
Sunday, August 8th, 2010Last night’s bus tour was pretty great. The best line we could deliver from the bullhorn was “not related to Frank”. Got laughs every time.
Video of me voting for me
Friday, August 6th, 2010Voted for myself today
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Bus tour!
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010Join us this Saturday for a tour of District 7 in this super awesome bus! We’ll be uploading video as we go.
